Creating a Strong Password is Not Difficult; Follow These Simple Rules to Keep Safe

There are so many web sites to visit, so many social media accounts, various email services, passwords to login to our corporate accounts, and much more. Many people find it overwhelming to manage these myriad accounts. That feeling is magnified when they are told to use strong passwords, as well as unique passwords for each service. CNet has compiled a list of nine best practices to be followed:

Strong passwords are of course key to your security. The challenge is to create strong passwords you can actually remember, without stumbling into the bad habits that can harm you -- like reusing the same password for multiple accounts. But how many passwords can you actually remember? You could easily have 85 passwords for all your accounts, from banking to streaming to social media, according to LogMeIn, which makes the LastPass password manager.

Weak passwords, or overusing the same password, can have serious consequences if your data is compromised -- even if that password is strong. For example, companies reported 5,183 data breaches in 2019 that exposed personal information like login credentials and home addresses that someone could use to defraud you or steal your identity. And since 2017, hackers published 555 million stolen passwords on the dark web that criminals can use to crack into your accounts.